Kombucha was flowing freely
My Plum, My Duck celebrates the return of the popular drink
It was a celebration of fermentation.
Amy Smith and Verena Varga, co-owners of Heart Beet Organics farm in Darlington, were serving free kombucha at Charlottetown’s My Plum, My Duck restaurant Saturday night to show their gratitude to Islanders.
The two said they were overwhelmed with an outpouring of support last week after the restaurant was slapped with a liquor inspector’s warning for selling their fermented tea, which contains a trace amount of alcohol.
The warning was lifted within a matter of days, with the drink now available again at the restaurant.
“We wanted to organize this just to thank our customers and offer people a free glass of kombucha,” said Smith. “It was really incredible and eyeopening to sort of realize how
much support we had from our customers.”
Both said the ordeal was somewhat scary, especially since the two are in the midst of expanding the farm-brewed, organic drink into other restaurants and establishments.
However, it also raised awareness around kombucha in P.E.I., with Varga noting sales at the Charlottetown Farmer’s Market were up almost 25 per cent during the past two weekends.
Smith recalled one first-time customer who approached
them at the market last week stating he would “buy a bottle out of protest.”
“(He said) ‘I’ve never had this stuff before and I don’t even know if I’m going to like it, but I support you.’ That was really great,” she said. “We certainly sold a lot of bottles to new customers.”
Sarah Forrester Wendt, owner of My Plum, My Duck, said she was happy to get the kombucha back in her restaurant and with how quickly the province reversed its decision.
“Because this place isn’t the same without it really,” said Forrester Wendt. “I was really sad when it was taken out because I couldn’t think of anything to replace it, there’s just nothing else like it.”
Finance Minister Heath MacDonald also said the province would also work on overhauling what he called outdated rules in the P.E.I. Liquor Control Act.
Varga said the experience has now given them more confidence in their plans to expand into other locations.
“In the end we’re able to go ahead with our plans and feel confident everything is going to be fine. Having that peace of mind is good,” said Varga. “I come from a big city and this is the really nice part about living on a small Island. The community aspect is really huge… on the Island, people come together when somebody needs them. It feels good to be part of that.”